Ok, I am 16, and both my parents complain to me about my "radio junk", and the "irratating" noises. They tell me they cant stand it in the house. I dont have much of options, the buildings on my 20 acre farm is as follows:

leaky roofed barn w/out insulation.

shed with potatoe gun, and accesories, soon to be used by mother inlaw(not mine, my aunts).

pool house: too wet

well house: too wet, uninsulated, no doore, or protection:lock.

2 cement grain cilos, which have no roof, or doors.

garage which is my uncles shop...(off limits).

i have tried ear phones, but they dont like the equipment in my room, which is directly under their room. nor the antenna on a 40' mast behind the house, my aunt tells me how "tacky it is to have stuf up on poles around our house, we look like hicks..."

so, finnaly, my questions to all of you wonderfull elmers, Where or what do i do with all my radios? any ideas??

What do you have in the room besides the HT and the mobile? You sure the room is not "junked up" with lots of parts, pieces, and other stuff? Moms often have a hard time when the place looks junky. Maybe you can put a covered area in the barn to keep the water off and move any non-functional stuff out there. Then you can assemble a nice, clean, neat operating position in the room. Make Mom happy and most of the other problems go away :-)

When I was a kid I turned an old chicken coop into my "storage shed" to minimize the amount of stuff in the room.

Go to a junk yard and see if you can get an old non running van or trailer for cheap. Get it towed to your place, and set it up close enough to your home to run power to it, and far enough so your parents won't hear you. Instant ham shack!

You might try telling them that if you have to give up the radio equipment that you think you will take up heavy metal or grunge. Seriously, it sounds to me like they have some issues like many others that have no understanding of the hobby. And it sounds like the extended family if getting more use of the facilities than you are. Explain that the antennas are necessary (no antenna = no radio). Try to keep them as neat as possible. And really, what do they want from someone your age, would they rather you were doing drugs and running with a gang? They don't know how good they have it! Is there an older ham in the area that could take some time to explain some of this to them? Would they listen? I wish I was not so far away, I would come over myself and talk to them myself!!

You sound like a nice, young guy. Seems like "aunty" and not the parents are the problem. They seem very much influenced by her opinions. For now, keep your gear and extra "stuff" to a minimum. Make sure the room is clean and neat...that includes non-ham things laying about. Point out that amateur radio can be an entry into a professional engineering career.

You probably have plenty of chores. Be sure and do them.

Above all, remember that you won't be living at home for ever. Some day you will be on your own, in your own place and able to make your own decisions.

Josh, here's an idea. Next time you are all sitting down to dinner, bring up the idea of trading all your Ham Radio gear for a motorcycle. You will amazed how quickly they will change their mind and agree with Ham Radio.

Seriously though, see if there is a local Ham Club that has a club station. Often these set-ups have better equipment and antennas than you do and the fellowship in the comunal club room is where much learning is done, some even about Ham Radio.

I'm not sure about your budget but I solved my problem with my wife by getting this -http://www.officemax.com/max/solutions/product/prodBlock.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&expansionOID=-536896798&prodBlockOID=1611591542

An armoire is the way to go. You can open it up when you need it then hide all of your gear when it isn't in use.

For antenna I keep a simple, portable Sigma GT5 by Force 12, and a low profile 40m dipole. Some folks put the GT5 in a cemented bucket as a stand then haul it into the yard for use, then back into the garage when done. No eyesore remaining in plain view all day and night. Not the stuff of big guns, but plenty of fun. I operate PSK31 when I dont want to wake up my gal, and headphones at other times, and portable from scenic overlooks when I really want to get out.

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